The laudable aim of Dawson & Szmukler (2006) of eliminating discrimination against those with mental illness by a fusion of mental health and incapacity legislation may not be achievable with their proposals. They address the ethical difficulties of treating ‘patients with fluctuating mental conditions who temporarily regain their capacity after medication, and again refuse necessary treatment’...

Mental health law in Algeria originates from the French colonial era. Although several pieces of legislation deal with mental disorders, their implementation remains unsatisfactory and does not meet the real needs of healthcare providers. Amendment of the current mental health law is required to enhance the delivery of care but also to protect those with a mental disorder from abuse.

This article summarises the development of mental health legislation in Singapore in three distinctive periods: pre-1965; 1965-2007 and 2007 onwards. It highlights the origin of mental health legislation and the relationship between mental health services and legislation in Singapore. The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008 and Mental Capacity Act 2008 are described in detail.

I enjoyed the article by Dawson & Szmukler (2006) because I like to keep up to date with legal and ethical issues in mental health. However, their claim for equivalence between mental and physical diseases sits uneasily with scientific papers published in the Journal. Shaw et al (2006) found that schizophrenia had a prevalence of 5% in perpetrators of homicide, compared with 1% in the general p...

I enjoyed the article by Dawson & Szmukler (2006) because I like to keep up to date with legal and ethical issues in mental health. However, their claim for equivalence between mental and physical diseases sits uneasily with scientific papers published in the Journal. Shaw et al (2006) found that schizophrenia had a prevalence of 5% in perpetrators of homicide, compared with 1% in the general p...

Background In many parts of the world, ongoing deficiencies in health systems compromise the delivery of health interventions. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified four functions that health systems need to perform to achieve their goals: Efforts to strengthen health systems focus on the way these functions are carried out. While a number of studies on health systems functions have be...